Michael woke up with a pounding headache, as if he had been knocked out by alcohol the night before.
“The bandit leader!” Michael called out in panic, fearing he was still under attack.
Instead, he found a two-headed wolf sitting beside him, wagging its tail excitedly.
Strangely, Michael felt an instinctive closeness to the beast.
“And who might you be?” Michael asked, rubbing its fur playfully.
“Oh, Michael.
You’re alive!
Thank God!” Heron rushed toward his son, his face filled with relief.
“I was worried something might have happened to you, but the beast wouldn’t let anyone get close.”
“I see,” Michael nodded.
A protective two-headed wolf?
Michael didn’t need anyone to tell him this was the B-rank battle pet he had drawn from the Gacha.
“Michael.
Thank you for protecting our village.
We owe you a great debt,” the village chief said, approaching with respect.
“Of course.
I couldn’t let my benefactor, who generously agreed to increase the coins he wishes to give me to die, right?” Michael smiled innocently.
The true meaning behind his words was not lost on the village chief.
“Hahaha.
Of course not,” the village chief replied cheerfully.
“By the way, Michael,” Heron added with a fake smile, “the beast also prevented us from reclaiming our plundered goods and claiming some compensation for the bandits’ actions.”
“That damn geezer!
So that’s what he was aiming for!” Michael thought, easily seeing through his father’s intentions.
“Who killed the bandit leader?” Michael asked.
Heron’s smile faded.
Grudgingly, he pointed at the wolves.
“I wonder… what would have happened had it not saved your lives?” Michael pressed.
“Urgh.” Heron gave up.
Sure, he was a greedy merchant, that was practically a job requirement, but he still had some morals.
Michael smiled, pleased that his father hadn’t acted too shamelessly.
“Great.
Then I’ll make sure to use the loot for its proper gain.
But feel free to take back what was wrongfully stolen from you.
I have no interest in it.”
His words sparked joy among the villagers.
With the tension settled, Michael finally checked his system notifications.
“B-rank?
Insanely cool,” he muttered.
But the next notification nearly made his soul leave his body.
“-70 bronze coins????
How the hell do I owe so much?!” Michael blurted out subconsciously, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Michael, is everything fine?” Heron asked.
“Everything’s fine,” Michael replied with a pained smile.
He cross-checked the terms and conditions.
An interest rate of 25%.
His system was a loan shark that wanted his demise.
Michael complained inwardly, but the system ignored him completely.
“Tch.
I should at least see how much I got from the bandits,” he thought, heading toward the storage area.
“Wow.
Quite the rich bandit,” Michael muttered as he scanned the loot.
In the bandit leader’s room, he found a coin pouch containing two thousand bronze coins—a massive amount that testified to the leader’s strength and success.
Ransacking further, he discovered a dusty sword in the far corner.
It was originally C-grade, unused for a long time but still sharp.
The moment Michael held it, the sword’s grade rose to B-rank.
“Perfect.
I can use this in public where I can’t bring out Void Slayer,” he thought.
He found mostly materials after that.
Nothing else of immediate personal use.
Leaving the leader’s quarters, Michael gathered everything valuable and approached Heron and the village chief.
“I wish to sell all of this.
How much can I get?” he asked.
The village chief inspected the items one by one, looking worried.
“They should be worth at least 10 silvers, but I doubt I have that much on hand.”
“I only have two hundred bronze total,” Heron added.
“It’ll take time to gather more.”
“Our village treasury has roughly 4 silvers,” the village chief said.
“Hmm.
That’s 6 silvers total.
Still 4 short…” Michael calculated.
“Just take everything and give me the coins you have.
You can split the loot 2:1 since the village chief offered more.”
“I actually have roughly 4 silvers as well,” Heron quickly interjected.
In truth, the entire bandit base was worth over 20 silvers, but Michael seemed to be selling in haste.
Heron couldn’t let the village chief get twice as much as him.
“Alright.
Just settle me, and you both can have it,” Michael said.
The next few hours were spent finalizing the transaction.
Afterwards, Michael mounted his Twin-Headed Wolf and left his father behind after explaining that he was going to forge his own path.
With speed that put most mounts to shame, the Twin-Headed Wolf—fire and ice—raced into the forest, heading toward Iron City.
Michael had earned 8 silvers from the bandits, a haul that filled him with pride.
The first thing he did was repay the loan.
What followed was an exciting series of Gacha draws.
[64 bronze spent.] This chapter is updated first at g.com.
[Drawing Gacha…]
[Result: NULL.
Failed to draw a reward.
Draw again?]
“Tch.
Draw.”
[1 silver spent.]
[Drawing Gacha…]
[Congratulations!
You have gained the Ex-rank result: Inventory.]
After spending roughly two and a half silvers, he finally got a reward.
With plenty of silver left, he continued drawing.
[2 silver spent.]
[Drawing Gacha…]
[Congratulations!
You have received the Forbidden Class: Ancient Broker.]
[4 silver spent.]
[Drawing Gacha…]
[Result: NULL.
Failed to draw a reward.]
“Damn.
Money doesn’t even last these days.
Inflation is no joke,” Michael muttered in his heart, pained.
Still, he was quietly pleased with his three rewards.
[Ex-rank: Inventory]
You gain an interdimensional space that allows you to store items.
Items stored remain in their perfect state within the time-frozen space.
Max items: 1000.
To Michael, the Inventory was extremely valuable, especially for his plans in Iron City.
Next, he examined the Forbidden Class.
[Ancient Broker]
Ancient Brokers are beings who not only understand the law of equivalent exchange but can bend it to their will.
They create and enforce contracts that follow equivalent exchange while subtly favoring themselves.
Abilities:
• Contract Manifestation: Create law-binding contracts between two willing parties.
The contract can cover anything as long as it is an exchange.
• Value Perception: See the true worth of things—tangible or intangible.
The value of a sword, a person’s lifespan, etc.
• Asset Conversion: Convert one asset into another using equivalent exchange (e.g., lifespan for strength, memories for skills).
• Debt Mark: Mark anyone who defaults on a deal.
The broker can track them and, in extreme cases, forcibly collect.
When an Ancient Broker obtains the Philosopher’s Stone, the class evolves into Ancient Philosopher, granting even greater powers.